Your Panic Attack Didn't Come Out of Nowhere

A friend of mine was promoted to the C-suite, executive level. Seven-figure job. Wonderful guy, super talented, also gay. And when he learned the news, he got sick. I mean sick, sick. He had to excuse himself and go home.

When I reached out, I asked him what happened. And he said, I just don't know. I just don't know what happened. I asked if he was okay. He went to a doctor, and the doctor said he was okay. I asked him, has it ever happened to you before? And he said no. I'm a confident guy. I am good with people. I've been working for this promotion for so long. But it seems like when I got it, something... I don't know. Maybe this is too much for me.

So with that story, we're going to talk about triggers for a panic attack, or, if you will, an anxiety attack.

It didn't happen overnight: the build-up

What happened to my friend, a good-looking gay guy in an executive position, did not happen just overnight. It was a build-up. In the previous video we were talking about when your physical health is okay, but your nervous system gave out. That was an alarm. It didn't happen overnight. That was a build-up.

But also, there are triggers. Those episodes that we have, those episodes that I had, those episodes that my friend had, did not come out of nowhere. There are triggers.

Trigger one: the important presentation

One of the triggers could be an important event. An important presentation. You have to go on stage. And the caveat that I want to emphasize: you could have performed, talked on stages, for your entire career. But when your nervous system has just had enough, when you've been powering through and running on overdrive, that can be a trigger. Important event. Presentation. You go there, and it happens.

Public appearances: for me, podcasts

Public appearances. For me, one of the public appearances was podcasts. In my career in tech I had, and I still have, a YouTube channel. I would interview a lot of software engineers. And I noticed that sometimes I would have those weird episodes. That was not me. I had been presenting and running the YouTube channel for years, and all of a sudden it started happening to me. So that is a trigger event.

The underlying trigger: a divorce, a breakup

Now, the underlying trigger event could be a divorce. A breakup. A significant life change that happened just recently.

And more importantly, you don't have this anxiety attack right after your partner says, you know what, we've got to break up. The breakup happened. And then something else, benign, like an interview, another sales call, another conversation with the board, or with your coworker. You're appearing on a podcast, you're appearing on TV or social media, and your nervous system gives out. But the trigger event was way before that. So those are triggers.

We really don't know what triggers it

And it's not limited to just that. If I had to explain it: we really don't know what could trigger a panic attack, or this overwhelming feeling of anxiety. Listen, some people in my practice, I work with people who have social anxiety, and they would have really intense anxiety attacks. Anxiety attack is not a term, it's not a DSM-5 diagnosis. But they would have extremely fearful experiences when they are in public. Either they would have to be by themselves, or they would have to travel, fear of public transportation, open spaces, or when they had to present on stages or do interviews.

Something I have not shared with you before: per my professional experience, especially as a psychotherapist in Moscow, I worked with teenagers, I worked with students, I worked with kids, and I worked with executives on this very issue, fear and anxiety. And hypnosis can also address those fears. It's one of the tools, in combination with other stuff. But these are the triggers. These are the triggers.

What to do about the triggers

Now, what to do about those triggers. Number one: if your body starts alerting you like that, you need professional help. It's up to you if you're going to go the therapy route or the hypnotherapy route. Maybe you went the therapy route and the therapy route did not help you. Hypnotherapy is another option to try.

Hypnotherapy is targeted. Not one appointment

Hypnotherapy, specifically what I practice, is very targeted. And one misconception that I want to address about hypnotherapy: it is not just one appointment and you're done and you're cured. I cannot promise you that, and nobody can. It's kind of like therapy, right? Nobody can promise you healing in one session or two sessions. What I normally do, I do eight to 14 sessions, because this is a reliable method. It's also what I saw with my clients when I was a psychotherapist, when I was doing talk therapy specifically. And with addiction counseling, that's a whole other level. But the compounding effect of sessions, when we have a focused, goal-oriented approach, works really well.

The three-day intensive

You can also do an intensive. An intensive, and I want people to know this, is when you work with me for three days, three consecutive days, before the event, or before something meaningful and important.

It's really important not to treat the intensive as a magic pill, as a magic formula. Because another trigger that you can accidentally build is this: you're working with me, you go on an intensive, you spend a lot of money, but you are building up anxiety before the event. So this is what we're not going to do. We're not going to build anxiety before the event. It's something to test out. If you have a presentation, let's say, in a week, and you need answers now, you can start with the intensive. But I think it is important that we continue to work through that. Because when I work with folks, I provide them recordings, I provide them resources where they can actually get better. Those are the resources.

Rule out the physical first

So, obviously, address physical symptoms, physical issues, with your medical doctors. That's important. Because what I don't want to happen, I don't want you to say that your actual heart attack is an anxiety attack. Or you have a cardiac issue, or an asthma attack, or other things. Although an asthma attack can be anxiety-produced too. A heart attack also: when something is wrong with our body, we get anxious. That's normal. So address that. If it is not physical, either you can go the hypnotherapy route or the talk therapy route. It's up to you.

Look for a credentialed hypnotherapist

When you're looking for a hypnotherapist, it's important to look for a credentialed person. I have a master's degree in psychology. I'm a registered hypnotherapist in the state of Washington. I do have a credential. And I'm obligated by law to provide ethical and HIPAA-compliant practice. That is your protection as a consumer. Keep that in consideration.

And more importantly, a practitioner, a therapist or a hypnotherapist, who understands you as an entrepreneur. I built my business. I worked with a lot of entrepreneurs as a coach, as a consultant. So I know. I've seen it all.

Those examples: I never share one particular story from my actual clients, because it is not HIPAA compliant. What I'm sharing with you in my videos is the generic case that I see across the board.

Next: how to prepare for your appointment

In the next one we're going to talk about how to actually prepare for your appointment. We're going to address how hypnosis can work. If you're getting ready for your appointment, either with a therapist, or with me, or with another provider, that's going to be really good for you. Because some people go to therapy or hypnotherapy for the first time, and that one is going to answer really important questions for you.

I hope it helps. I love you so much.

Part 3 of the series A panic attack out of nowhere. The episode arrives on YouTube on November 3, 2026; the written version is here first.